Rise Again
by Obsessionsaremylife
Summary: While people fall all the time they can get back up again, they just need the help of someone who will be there for them. Always Castle/Beckett Oneshot


**Spoilers for photos which were relised from season 4 episode 1 which are all over tumblr at the moment! **

**Rise Again**

It had been years since the last time Kate Beckett had journeyed to this park, to be quite honest it had been years since she had _properly _been in this neighborhood. The place where she grew up; most of the time when she met her dad it was either at a cafe close to her or in her apartment. Coming here was just too much, too many memories which caused her too much pain. She was only here because after she was _finally _discharged from the hospital she wasn't allowed to return back to her apartment without someone being there with her 24/7 and since Josh was going to be out of the country _again _it left her father and Castle, who she could tell all she had to do was blink and he would drop everything to help her.

She decided to move in with her father for a bit, she knew she was running away from Castle but she couldn't deal with him along with physical therapy but just like Castle it didn't mean he was phoning her, checking to make sure everything was alright, texting her with jokes and innuendos with always made her smile despite herself and of course the times when her father had to go to work and around 10 minutes after he left the door, there would be a knock and Castle would be there, with food, DVDs ect. It varied every time.

Which was partly the reason why she was here now, in the park where the last time she had came was with her mother.

_Johanna Beckett smiled as she heard her eight year old daughter's laughter swim through the air as she raced towards the swings. _

"_Mommy!" Kate shouted as she threw herself at the swings. "Look! Look how high I can swing!"_

_Johanna laughed at her daughter's carefree expression as she then demonstrated just how high she could swing. _

"_Careful Katie!" Johanna called as she made her way to her giggling daughter. "Not too high."_

"_Mommy!" Kate pouted as she slowed down. A hopeful look formed on her face as an idea formulated in her mind. "Will you push me? Then you can control how high I go!" _

_Johanna laughed. "I feel like that is a fair enough compromise Katie." She walked the final steps to stand behind her daughter who was looking behind her expectantly. _

"_Mommy!" Kate said impatiently as her mother laughed again. _

"_Okay Katie!" She laughed as her daughter whooped when her mother started to push her higher then she ever went on her own. _

"Beckett!"

Kate blinked her way out of the memory; she could still hear her mother's carefree laughter whispering to her in the wind almost as clear as the crunch of the grass beside her.

"Hey." Kate whispered as she turned to her companion. "You know I'm kinda disappointed in you."

"Why?" Castle pouted as Kate tried to hide her smirk by turning back to the swing set which her 8 year old self spent so much time on.

"It's been a full 20 minutes since my father left for work." Kate teased as Castle glared slightly at her.

"Well give me credit I needed to find where you were – thank you for that by the way."

"For what?" Kate's forehead burrowed.

"Nearly giving me a heart attack when you didn't answer the door I thought..." The sentence left unfinished being carried away in the wind.

"Yeah sorry – I knew you had a key though."

Castle tried to protest but stopped with the look she shot him. "I know my dad gave you one Rick, why do you think I left the note saying I would be at the park."

"An interesting choice Detective." Castle commented as Kate started to walk towards the swing set. "I hadn't really pegged you for a park-goer."

Kate turned as she went to sit on the swing swaying slightly with the breeze as she looked up at Castle and then shrugged.

"I just needed to get out." She explained. "I was going stir crazy staying in the apartment all day."

"Understandable." Castle nodded as he withdrew what looked like a book from the inner pocket of his coat before throwing it on one of the swing on the swing set next to the one Kate was gently swinging on. "I thought I should give you a present to keep your brain from turning into mush before you can return to the precinct."

"Castle..." Kate started to protest. "You really don't have to do anything, really – you've been..." She blew out air. "...amazing."

"Aren't I always?" Castle joked as Kate glared at him. "Still I think you'll like this."

"Oh?" Kate asked as he passed her the book.

"It's the third Nicki Heat – I got you an advance copy."

"Thanks Castle, wow I didn't know it was coming out." Kate blinked.

"Yeah in September – they wanted me to do a book tour but I..." Castle stopped as Kate looked at him. "I refused, didn't want to leave not when Alexis still has college's to decide on."

They both knew it was a lie but neither of them commented on it.

Kate nodded."Thank you." She clasped the book in her hands as she saw Castle lower himself onto the swing next to her. She traced the cover art, which she knew she was going to get some grief from the guys when she returned back to work, before turning back to the writer next to her who was looking at her with such devotion it made her heart miss a beat.

"So?" Castle broke the silence "You heard from Josh recently?"

Kate nodded her head. "Yeah actually."

"Everything alright?" Castle asked once he realized that something was off with her tone.

"Yeah it's just... well we kinda... broke up."

"Broke up?" Castle's voice and face lit up before he carefully schooled his features again hoping that she hadn't noticed.

"Yeah, broke up." Kate nodded. "It just wasn't working and not just because you punched him in the face when I was in my coma." She gave him her "I'm really not that impressed by you at the moment look".

"Ah..." Castle bit his lip ."He told you about that?"

"Yes." Kate nodded. "Want to tell me why?"

Castle looked down into his lap '_because I love you and couldn't believe that Josh was telling me I had no right to be at your bedside 24/7 even though he was so right.' _He thought but didn't say, he shrugged helplessly, "Emotions we're running high Kate – I'm not proud of it." He shrugged again couldn't help but say, "It was one hell of a punch though."

Kate couldn't help it she let out a laugh as she shook her head at him. "What am I going to do with you?"

'_Love me' _Again Castle thought but couldn't say. "I don't know Detective – I'm game for anything just remember my safe word is Apples!" He wiggled his eyebrows around as Kate glared at him shaking her head before starting to slightly swing on the spot, closing her eyes as the breeze swept through her hair. If she had looked she would have seen Castle looking at her with a gaze which was close to reverence.

"Tell me detective." Castle whispered catching Kate's attention again. "Why are you _here?"_

Kate shrugged again. "I don't know, I knew I wanted to get out of the apartment but knew that you and my dad would go ape if I go too far and then I remembered this place. It's peaceful, and just quiet." She looked around a bit a soft smile on her face. "It hasn't really changed much since when I came here as a kid."

"You came here as a kid?" Castle asked smiling at the image of a young Kate in pigtails swinging innocently on the exact swing she was sitting on now.

"Yeah with my mom, she would always tell me not to swing too high but then she would just push me herself and I would go higher then when I did doing it myself. I never realized just how much I missed it." She started to swing higher then became amused when Castle started to do the same thing.

"Alexis always loved the swings." He mused "It'd be the first thing she run to when we were at the park."

"Hmm." Kate smiled. "Me too, what about you? When you were young."

"Oh, swings as well – you can get to outer space from swinging high enough after all." He stated making Kate giggle.

"Oh of course." She smiled brightly. "How could I have forgotten?"

Castle shook his head at her. "Tut tut detective."

Kate giggled slowing down before looking down at the book in her hands. "Will I like it?" She asked as Castle continued to swing.

"Hmm?

"Heat Rises will I like it?"

He stopped then. "I hope so – I would have given you the manuscript but..." Again the thought was left in the air unfinished.

Kate nodded as she turned the front cover and first few pages to see the dedication.

_To KB_

_For when you rise again, thank you_

_Always RC_

She smiled as she let the dedication sink in. "Wow." She murmured as she looked at Castle who was looking at her intently. "That dedication...did you?..."

"You were still in your coma – though I finished the book when they said that you were going to wake up any moment." He shrugged.

"Thank you." Kate whispered. "For _everything." _

Rick smiled at her. "You won't say that when you read the sex scene."

Kate rolled her eyes and scowled at him. "You just don't know how to keep a moment do you?"

Rick laughed as he pushed himself to start to swing again. Kate had joined him to swing both edging a little higher then the other.

"Oh detective are you really trying to out swing me?"

"Yes, you just have the head start of starting first and not having a book in your hand."

He stopped suddenly. "Fine then detective give me the book."

"What?" Kate asked "No it's mine?" She protested as Castle laughed and got up from his swing to actually slow her swing to a stop.

"Yes it is and you will get it again after this."

Reluctantly Kate handed him the book and watched as he sat the book on his jacket and joined her in his swing again.

"Okay detective you are on."

"For what?"

"I bet you I can swing higher then you and you will stop before me."

"What are we betting?" She asked.

"If you win - when you are back at the 12th you let me take you out for dinner after we finish our first case."

"Okay." Beckett nodded. "What about if you win?"

"The same only..."

"Only?" Beckett asked.

"It would be a date." He said clearly.

"A date?" Kate whispered "As in..."

"Something I've wanted to for a _long _time." Castle nodded smiling sheepishly. "If you want."

She smirked. "You'll have to win first."

"Don't worry detective, _I will."_

Kate laughed rolling her eyes and biting her lip. "Ready?"

"Always." Castle smiled back.

_7 years later. _

"_Mommy! Daddy!" 5 year old Abigail Johanna Castle shouted as she ran towards the swings which were in her grandfather's local park. "Swings!"_

"_I can see that Abi." Kate laughed as she linked her arm through her husband's arm. _

"_Can I go?"_

"_Of course you can baby bird." Rick answered and laughed as his daughter then proceeded to race to the swings where 7 years ago he and his wife sat on. And where he also proposed 6 years ago. He smiled as Kate leaned her head on his shoulder. Pressing a kiss on top of her head he held her closer to him. _

"_Tired?" He asked as they slowly made their way to their daughter. Kate nodded, "I swear I wasn't this tired for Abi."_

_Rick laughed."You were Kate – you know us Castle's, we're good at exhausting you."_

"_Yeah." Kate nodded. "You start from the womb." He smiled as he saw Kate rest her free hand on her obviously pregnant belly. _

_He looked up when his wife shouted. "Abi not so high!" _

"_Ah but mommy!" Abi pouted using her dad's signature puppy dog look. _

_Kate just gave her a level look back as they approached her. _

"_What about I push baby bird?" Rick offered as he helped her onto the swing he had won the bet to take her out for the first time just 7 years ago. _

"_Will you push me higher?" Abi asked as Rick did a shushing motion hoping his wife wouldn't see. _

_She did. _

"_Go on Rick." She rolled her eyes as she slowly started to push herself on the swing ._

"_Just not too high Mrs Castle." Rick teased as he went to stand behind his daughter pushing her so she could ride even higher then what she was doing on her own._

_Kate smiled at the scene next to her, of her giggling daughter kicking her legs madly as her father pushed her higher. She jumped slightly as she felt herself being pushed gently, looking back to see her husband briefly leaving his post behind their daughter. To push her. As she swung herself back to him, she stopped the swing in its tracks to kiss him slowly on the lips and smiled when she felt a hand moving to rest on her stomach. _

"_Daddy!" Abi's cries separated them with a laugh as they looked at their daughter pouting at them wearing an expression that clearly stated that she was not happy with the current events. _

"_Okay baby bird okay!" Rick soothed. "One more minute okay?" He turned quickly back to his wife, kissing her softly on the lips again before whispering, "Thank you."_

"_Always."_

-X-

**Hey this is my first proper Castle flic so I really hope you enjoyed I know I really enjoyed writing it so please review and let me know what you thought! Also thank you for Jenna for beta'ing this flic for me you are the best fanfic buddy a girl could ask for! **


End file.
